Quilts

 For a few years now I have been making quilts for charity with my excess fabric. I have used pretty much all of mine so now I buy sheets and doona covers from op shops.

The inner is a wool blend that Ibuyfrom spotlight in a big roll. 8m by 250cm. I cut it in 1.5m lengths and then in halves, I can get eight full sized and two smaller ones from a bolt.

The last one I bought was $80 and I had used half. I figured I needed to get on with it as winter will be here before we know it.

My challenge is to make 12 blankets to donate, either sewn or crocheted. 

Last week I took some time to cut out the remaining inners.

The inners folded ready to go. I checked my stash, I washed and prep the op shop buys as soon as I get them, cost is between $2 and $5. Doona covers are the best as they're double and longer, the excess goes into my stash to make toppers from shapes, squares or hexagons.

Ended up over three days I made three quilts, a sandwich of top and back with the wool blend in the middle. I sewn around and put a few stitches in the middle just so they stay together.

Three finished quilts really to donate.

Footy fever

 Yep, it's that time of the year again.

We are into the second round and boy oh boy, has there been some upsets already.

Happy to say that my team has won both their games, first game was against the reining premeriers and left them in their dust.

Friday night with 12 minutes to go, one of the big light towers went out and the ground was in darkness on one side. The players had to go off, no one seemed to know what to do, I went to bed thinking it would be called finished. Brisbane were 40 points Infront.

But no, after 40minutes, the teams came back and continued playing. The losing side kicking 5 goals but Brisbane did hang on to win by eleven points.

Tote bag

 Last year when we were in Alice Springs, I bought a couple of pieces of indigenous fabric without a plan of what to make with them. They were pre cut and measured 120cms by 50cms.

Coming back from Norfolk Island I saw a lady on the plane with a bag which has two colours and I thought that looked great.

I didn't have a pattern but just drew it on a couple of pieces of computer paper. I bought feet and magnetic buttons for closing.

I used another yellow for the lining and added some pockets for keys and phone in the darker yellow.

The bottom has been reinforced and has the feet attached so that it doesn't have to rest on the ground or floor.

I had not used the button magnetic before and there were no instructions but they had two pins out either side, which I found rather strange. I did the top and measured the middle to make sure they were directly opposite. When I tested them, there didn't seem to be a very good contact, it was there but not strong. I decided to take them out because of that and the extra pins make it look untidy. Well, to my surprise, they came apart! It was actually two pairs of magnetic buttons and once I had taken the second off, they closed how I had expected them to do so.

It's turned out bigger than I expected as well but that's okay.

Dessert

 Warren was looking at his tablet the other night and said I'd love that as he showed it to me. A girl probably in China had a very thin piece of pastry and she spread it on a hot plate, chopped up a banana and and an egg and spread over the pastry, she the flipped up all four corners and turned it over. It was frying in oil, she took it out using chop sticks and the oil drained back into the pan. Nice and golden brown, sliced it into sixteen pieces and drizzled condensed milk over it and served it in a polystyrene tray with a hole in the corner for chop sticks.

I figured that I could make it with a couple of adjustments.

I used a sheet of puff pastry, with the chopped banana and egg, folded the corners and brushed it with some butter and into the airfryer, not as fast of course.

This was the result.

Nice and crispy. Luckily I had a tube of condensed milk that we had been experimenting with for Warren on the Great Ocean walk. He says he's not worried about taking coffee, he will just drink water. I had bought some coffee bags and the tube of condensed milk as I know that I would be wanting a cup of coffee at least for breakfast.

Mrs Felix or Felicity

 Finished this afternoon.

She has black paws and bigger ears and is ready for tennis.

Swimming time

 While we went to Norfolk Island, Lucy had a holiday with Lorelle, the dog sitter. We knew that Lorelle took the dogs in her charge to the beach to swim. Lucy has always been scared at the beach and of the waves.

We have taken her a few times and she has always walked to the extent of her lead away from the water.

We were told that she loved swimming. Took Lucy to the off lead beach area after holidays.

Tide was in too much and lapping up to the rock wall.

Warren went over the rock wall and walked out, it's not that deep.

I didn't want to go down over the rock wall, just my luck to slip and fall.

Lucy wasn't sure which one of us she wanted to be closer to, a regular problem for her if we are not together.

Nothing like peer pressure even in the dog world.

Felix the cat.

 Looking for my license last week forced me to check through some drawers and I found some old magazines. I had put them aside possibly because there were some patterns in them. I removed the patterns I wanted and the rest went in the bin. Yay me. Too many things take root in this place and just stay, good to dispose of stuff no longer required.

It was a good feeling.

Well, on to Felix, there was a pattern of a cat and I wondered if I could make it. Stands 30cms high with clothes.

Took me four days, I am about to finish his mate who will have a skirt, I will have to fudge that. Not sure how tall Felix is but must be close to the 30cms, I used my favourite hook which is half a size bigger than recommended. He's unusually as the pattern calls for starting at the legs and stuff as you go meaning that legs body and head are done as one piece. Arms tail and ears are the only stitching needed.

Goodbye Norfolk Island

 The chooks with their chickens were all on the lawn when we left. No food left so we went to check the car and apartment keys back and then had breakfast.

Hens were all black but the roosters were multi colours

The multi coloured chicks had interesting colours.

The airport. There were two wings to the building. We checked our bags in and then waited. Had to go through to the building on the left to board our plane. Left at 1400 (or 2pm) and arrived back at 14.40 (2.40pm). Two hour time difference.

The car was waiting for us, we had paid an extra $6 and got valet parking, very worth it. Just straight out of the airport and across the crossing, car was parked up and attendant even loaded our bags into the car. Not necessary as we travel light. Warren has always said that whatever I pack, I carry and fair enough, apparently it is an Army thing. My bag was 10.9kgs and his was 9.9kgs plus our back packs.

NI last afternoon

 We had a horse and carriage ride booked and driven over to the place. Apparently they used to have a riding school but now offer the carriage rides. I did think by the description that we would be having a meal, that was a bit disappointing.

They were still dressing the horse when we got there, she was a Shire not a Clydesdale as I first thought. Apparently Shires are bigger and stronger.

I was given the front seat for the first part, my seat was about seven feet off the ground.

We rode around the roads and into the hundred acre reserve where we stopped for photos. The ride was for about seventy minutes.

Light refreshments were served, three different types of tea, one was cold. The tea was a side hussle and available to buy if we wanted, we bought a couple of small packets of the cold one, it was three or four types of berries and quite refreshing.

The food was set out on a three tiered plate, three different types of savoury, I know one was pumpkin and fish, they were bite sized and only one per person. The bottom tier was local fruit, two figs cut into quarters, a few blue berries and red guavas. It was $75 each.

NI Wednesday

 Last day and we had one more area to cover which meant we headed north to the T junction by the gardens and then south to a magnificent church.

One of the trees that I have already mentioned and had photos were in the back corner of this church. A bus load of people pulled up as we did and I caught the end of the conversation from the tour guide. He was explaining that many people living on the island can't get a pension as they own too much land, he has 18 acres but he can't make a living off it, hence the tour guiding. 

St Barnaby's church.

The photos inside do not do it justice. It was a very peaceful place and of course on a hill.

NI shops

 Little island in the middle of nowhere. Fifteen hundred KMs from Brisbane and about the same from the north coast of New Zealand. One main road through town, plenty of places to eat as one would expect when the only industry is tourism now.

There were several dress shops and jewellery stores with reasonable prices, I was told. I didn't venture in as I had no intention of buying anything so I didn't go in. There was however two chocolate making stores and we did buy some tasty chocolate from them, a good price.

I did see a running singlet that would be good for Warren to run in so we went in there, ended up buying a singlet of him and a good quality t for me with embroidery on it, happy with the price.

Warren wanted to buy a jigsaw puzzle to replace one at our accommodation, he had done it and found three pieces missing. The Bounty store boasted on having whatever we wanted, well it was not wrong, biggest toy store that I have been in, it covered two blocks and had seperate rooms for different things. It was probably the size of four or five houses. He bought a 500 piece jigsaw for $9. They did tell us that they sold the cheapest Lego in the world and looking some of their stock, I could believe it.

Two well stocked shoe stores and I saw a lot of people going in so we went to,  Warren asked to see some walking shoes for me. He says I will need decent shoes to get to Cape York. No shoes in my size the ones I wanted but they did have a boot, perfect!

Less money than we had been looking at paying in Australia at DFO.

The reason things are cheaper is that due to funny rules, goods like toys, clothing and shoes are duty free. I have worn my boots once and they are very comfortable.

NI trees

 Massive trees on Norfolk. Besides the Norfolk pines there are Morton Bay figs. Of course the history books talk about Captain Cook calling into Norfolk to get the trunks of the trees for masts. They were certainly tall enough and straight enough but they are a soft wool so not suitable, he had to sail on to Australia to get the hard wood trees.

A Morton bay fig, this was not the biggest on the island but the second biggest and second oldest. The biggest is now onprivate property and no longer accessible to the general public. Our bus driver told us that she remembers playing in and around it when she was a child.

Just a quirky tree in the Hundred acre reserve.

This majestic tree was in the grounds of St Barnaby's church.

Entrance to the Hundred acre reserve, it wasn't a hundred acres but a nod to Christopher Robbins, Winnie the Pooh. Nice shaded area with gravel paths opening to a grassed area suitable for picnics, even picnic tables.

NI The Arches

 This was the name of a cache and it was on the side of the airport road. From the name we didn't know what to expect.

When we pulled up, this massive building was on the side of the road. Again the post and rail fence with a latched gate to get in. There were signs advising against climbing on the structure.

There were ten arches in the building, no roof left and it appears to have had at least three sections all with the ten bays.

The only info was that it had been an agriculture building. Very thick walls similar to other structures such as the new and old goals.

Interesting to wander through.

NI Tuesday

 We were booked to go on a horse and carriage ride but they had rung and posphoned it until Wednesday. We still had some caching to do so it wasn't a problem. There were 68 caches on the island and an extra one if people found all of them. Warren had stated we were going to try to get them all. I set the bar lower and was hoping to get 50, ended up with 58. 

We headed up island and then went south. Beautiful scenery again with glimpses of the sea as we came around corners.

Sea is a deep blue at the top end.

These cows were actually behind a fence, again post and rail, very substantial fences.

This fence led into a park, I thought at first we couldn't get in, not wanting to go on to private property even though the cache stated it was at a reserve. Then we saw the entrance, a gap meaning that people could go in but of course the cows couldn't fit.

Warren had said that he hadn't seen any pine cones, well we found one. It was quite big, the size of a rock melon and pretty solid, coming down from a fair height, I reckon it could knock a person out.

Lovely part of the meandering dirt road, when the Royals visited, Queen Elizabeth had a very pretty look out named after her, Prince Phillip got a dirt road at the back of the island, it really was off the beaten track. We followed the GPS because of a cache otherwise I think it would only be the locals that used this road.